Student Travel: Keeping Reading Week Inexpensive

Whether you are going away to an all-inclusive down south or travelling somewhere else it's extremely important to limit your spending while you are away. It can be especially tempting to purchase a ton of stuff before prepping for your trip, or blow a huge chunk of cash while you are away. Trips are one of those purchases that lead to the need to buy more. You never just pay for a hotel and flight, there are a tons of purchases made before you go away from tanning to a new suitcase or (I really hope not) a brand new iPad so you can watch movies on the flight..



Here are a few tips for keeping costs low (since you already have paid for a flight/hotel or all-inclusive vacation).

Go to Walmart for your pharmacy type products.

• I know I did suggest the place that everyone loves to hate, but its often a lot cheaper than Shoppers Drug Mart when your looking for sunscreen (and aloe) and all that other fun stuff.

Dollarstore

• You can buy a variety of products for around a $1 or $2. There are airplane neck pillows to a variety of snacks you can bring on the plane.
• Also you can grab travel size shampoos/conditioners/moisturizer etc. for cheap

Check Canadian Tire for Bubba's

• Yup these are awesome, and I did already post a link the other day on the Facebook page. I'm going to be taking one away with me when I head south and it's relatively inexpensive while keeping your drinks nice and cold.

Take a set amount of money away with you and avoid using your credit cards unless its an emergency

There are also a few things that I hate forgetting;

• Sunglasses
• Loading up my iPhone with music/movies and other in flight entertainment
• Books
• Deck of cards and other stuff needed for drinking games 

Also just so you don't for get anything, check out Sunwings Trip Checklist (yeah I know it's kind of dated, who brings a camera anymore...)

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Sports Tickets: Cheap

Don't get the wrong idea with this post. I'm not going to be able to find you $15 dollar tickets to Leafs games. No matter how many years in a row they miss the playoffs I'm pretty sure prices wont ever drop that low. BUT there are some great sports events that you can check out on a  Friday or weekend that won't break your budget.


Travelzoo
Travelzoo is one of the better websites out there that has some great daily deals/newsletter with their top 20 deals of the week. This week they have a discount on for 3 Toronto Raptors games, the Sunday game tickets are priced as lows $15 each.

Check out this weeks Top 20 here. (There are a lot of hotels/vacations mixed in here)

Ticketmaster Ticket Deals Section
Ticketmaster is your one stop shop for concerts, sporting events and everything else in between. They also happen to have a deals section on their website with below $40 tickets, 2 for 1 ticket deals, tickets under $25 etc.

Check out the website here. Also hockey tickets under $40 here

Daily Deal Sites
Yes I know, it may feel as though I constantly suggest daily deal sites, but there is a reason. Sometimes I agree there is a bunch of crap on these sites, but if you check back enough you can often find some great deals for local sports teams and even your occasional pro sports tickets.

Groupon
Living Social
Team Buy
Wagjag

Check out Local Sports
More than likely if you live close to your university campus you can catch one of the varsity games during the week or on the weekend for relatively little money.
Full schedules for all sports can be found on the CIS website or your individual provinces websites.

OUA
Canada West
RSEQ
AUS

There are also some great options when it comes to semi-pro/major junior sports teams. In terms of hockey there are a variety of major junior leagues including the OHL-with teams in usually smaller cities (which often works out well for those that go to university in smaller towns/cities).

CHL-Check out individual provinces/regions websites for team/ticket info

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Not So Extreme Couponing

We all know a few years ago how much couponing in the United States blew up. And if you didn't congrats I'm kind of jealous you didn't have to hear about it. There were women out there who managed to pay about $6 for a $200 grocery bill or something ridiculous like that...only in the US.

Now for the less crazy people out there who don't want to be carrying around a folder full of coupons or basically fill their basement like a personal grocery store...there are less drastic savings options.

What I'm here to tell you is that you can't find a few coupons here and there and save a few bucks. We don't  need to develop our own store room of food, but by following a few tips and checking out the following websites you can save some money...without being crazy.

• First off check out my coupon page which has some of the better websites out there for coupons that can be printed or directly mailed to you.
• These are some of the best websites out there in terms of coupons
• Also check out a previous post I put together on how Facebook can save you money.
• Make sure to like these pages on Facebook. Basically you will get a variety of contests, offers as well as coupons for sometimes free product right to your newsfeed.
• Keep coupons in your wallet-the amount of times I've forgotten coupons is annoying and then I end up not saving as much
• Double up coupons on top of sale prices, it helps you save even more
• If you are printing coupons make sure your grocery store accepts printable one's. Some store's are coming around to the idea of printable coupons (fraud was one of the main concerns previously).

Also here's a little gift from me..for all those ice cream lovers.

Chapman's $5 Coupon Offer

All you have to do is click on the link above and write in the comment area that you would like to request the $5 coupon from Chapman's and then they mail it to you. Simple as that.

Oh and then double up the coupon with sale prices and you've got yourself a pretty sweet deal. 

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Buy Online to Save: Books

If you are actually willing to purchase books at all, the best way to do so is by buying online. There are a few online retailers out there that offer prices here and there as well as different perks in terms of shipping, rewards points etc.

Chapters/Indigo

Rewards program: Plum Rewards 

Shipping: Free Shipping on orders $25 or more

Pricing: Reasonable (compared to the cover prices they charge in store anyways)

Tips: Make sure to check out the bargain books section on the site as well as in-store and online deals.

Verdict: Use plum rewards for the discount and the free wi-fi, unless you buy a lot of books the accumulated points system really isn't work your time. Returns are easier since you can return products in store anywhere in Canada. 

Amazon

Rewards program: Rewards Visa (I'm not even going provide a link, you don't need an Amazon Visa)

Shipping: Free Shipping on orders $25 or more (can't be from a seller on Amazon, must be a product sold directly from Amazon Canada)

Pricing: For books, usually a bit better than Chapters

Tips: Check out the Bestseller deals here

Verdict: Amazon provides a lot of selection (aside from books as well) and slightly better prices than Chapters. They don't offer a rewards program but the discounts themselves are worth it to go shop online. Better/more reviews are on Amazon simply because there are more users. 

Overall:

Both websites are great in terms of well priced books compared to buying in-store where you often will pay full price for books (unless they are best sellers). The Plum rewards program often has offers and deals and once you gather at least 2,500 points you can get $5 off (you have to be buying a lot of books). Both work well and often for books you are highly unlikely to return them so return policies aren't as vital. 

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Winterlicious-Toronto Meals Cheap

So for all of my readers that live in Toronto you definitely need to make sure you check out Winterlicious. Running between January 25-February 7th 2013 there are a variety of restaurants that take part and provide most often a relatively inexpensive meal.

How does Winterlicious work?

Basically an assortment of restaurants within the city of Toronto develop prix fixe menu's for Lunch, Dinner or both between $15-$25 for Lunch and $25-$45 for Dinner. Choose the restaurant you want to go to, make sure to make a reservation and then your good to go.

Check out of few of these more popular places that you have heard of.

Bier Market- $20 Lunch & $35 Dinner

Drake Hotel- $20 Lunch & $35 Dinner

Spice Route- $15 Lunch & $25 Dinner 

If those don't interest you, you can check out the other 188 restaurants available here

Before booking make sure to check out Yelp.com to make sure the restaurants have good ratings.

Also make sure to book early since spots often fill up quickly.

Overall it's a great idea for a possible cheap date, or a great night out with friends instead of going to your standard chain restaurant. All of the prix fixe menu's come with an appetizer, entree and dessert as well which is always nice, because I know as a student I usually opt out of dessert and an app because I know I can't afford it.

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Simple and Easy Ways to Save on Food

Food is definitely something that I talk about it a lot, and it's obvious from the variety of  posts that I have already written on the topic. I decided as part of the new way I was going to write on this blog was to make things succinct, to the point and easy for readers to follow. So here are some general things that I think about when I go to the grocery store.

• Purchase generic brand or private label products instead of name brand foods

• Yes I know everyone thinks the No Name brand tastes like crap, but that's exactly what they want you to think because of the millions they spend on branding each year. What's often the case is the same company that produces private label/no name food often has their own name brand product or is the name brand product you always buy just minus the flashy packaging. 

• Purchase full fruit instead of cut up packaged versions
• Please don't be extremely lazy. You can buy a full pineapple for $1 on sale at No Frills or pre cut pineapple for almost $3-$5. Oh and fruit trays are extremely expensive too, so please don't buy them. 
• Buy a big bag of regular carrots, peel and cut them. It will turn out to be a lot cheaper than the $2-3 dollar bag of baby carrots.
• Check out this site on how to cut an avocado, pineapple and mango, because yes I know they are annoying to cut.

• Buy in Bulk
• For the most part, buying in bulk will save you money. This is often the case with meat products. Of course your thinking, I don't need 8 chicken breasts. Well eventually you do. Buy ziploc bags and bag up the meat in meal size portions and you have meat for a while and you've saved by buying in bulk and probably getting it on sale as well.
• You can also buy yourself a really large piece of pork and cut your own pork chops and once again bag them in individual portions. Check out the video here
• Don't Buy in Bulk
• Yup I know, I'm contradicting myself, but there are situations where buying in bulk may not be your cheapest option. Costco is one example. It's really important to know your prices when you go to Costco because some products aren't that cheap, it just seems cheap because its a massive box. A few products I have found at Costco that are a great deal is Liberte Greek Yogurt, 2 Tubs for about you $7.50 I believe, or 3kg of Oatmeal for $7 approximately as well. Know your prices and you will be fine
• Also when using coupons it actually makes more sense to purchase smaller formats of the products and use more coupons. Instead of saving $0.50 on a $4 item, buy the smaller format at $2 and save more if you are using multiple coupons on multiple smaller formats.
• Don't Go For Variety
• I've learned this the hard way. I thought I was going to be a gourmet chef and would make a variety of meals all the time. And of course I didn't finish a bunch of food I purchased, it went bad and all the ingredients cost me quite a lot more. If you stick to a few staples and go for less variety you end up spending less and using it up without dumping half of it in the garbage. Your a student not a chef.

Also another tip when you really need to buy something and it's not on sale, make sure to check the unit price of the product which is often in grams or kg.


This is a great way to compare 2 products and determine which is less expensive based on the cost per oz, lb, g or kg. A product that costs. $0.263 per oz is cheaper than a product that costs about $0.5 per oz

How do you save on food?

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Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas is now in less than a week and for most of us we finished shopping for Christmas presents. Despite my best efforts to complete all of my Christmas shopping, the 3 weeks of exams and final projects don't tend to seem like real life, and once your out its almost Christmas. So for those who are still haven't purchased everything they need, here are some great ideas, some of which don't even need to be shipped. For the most part I like to completely avoid malls since you end up spending about 30 minutes trying to find a spot.


Magazine Subscription
http://www.rogersmagazineservice.com/
Check out Rogers Magazine service for great deals on magazine subscriptions and you Air Miles and Aeroplan members can also get bonuses for purchasing subscriptions.

Amazon.ca
*Note today is the last day forty of free super saving shipping to arrive before Christmas
Buy a wide variety of products and purchase over the $25 to get free shipping as well.
Make sure to check out their Top Holiday Deals section but make sure to check that the products are available once they are in your cart.

Chapters
*Use the ship to store function to go and pick up your purchase, ship to home for the holiday's is no longer available
Purchase books at much cheaper prices than in the store, and sign up for plum rewards to save more. Also you can purchase a variety of home decor products, stationary including Moleskin notebooks for friends that love to write and keep notes in something pretty.

Futureshop
For those who love technology, as of today there are 3 days left for ground shipping and it's free for orders over $20.
For items like DVD's and box sets you may be able to find a better deal at Amazon, check your prices. It's often better to buy from Futureshop for electronics since you can go in store whenever there are problems or issues with the product and returns are much easier as well.

Groupon/Team Buy/Living Social/Wag Jag
Make sure to check out all of these sites certificates to redeem the gift are available once the daily deal ends, so keep that in mind. But these gifts are simple don't require any shipping and for those who hate wrapping can be put inside a Christmas card. These gifts can be anything from trips to manicures and pedicures

Manicure/Pedicure/Spa Treatments from a local spa
This something you can pick up as long as the location is open, but it's highly unlikely you will be waiting in line or fighting anyone for a parking spot, plus this is usually a great gift for your mom.

LCBO/Liquor Store
Another great idea and something I've done in the past is buying someone's favourite liquor, and you can often purchase these in gift sets as well. There's also the option of picking a variety of unique Christmas beers and it's something that you know they will love and can even consume on Christmas. Check out the LCBO's Gift Finder guide http://www.lcboholiday.com/gift_finder

Baking
Even if you aren't the greatest baker in the world, baking cookies and decorating them yourself and then packaging them up nicely is a great personalized present that is also easy on the budget. Check out Pinterest for some great baking ideas as well as just simply searching google or checking out Kraft Kitchens as well http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/dessert/main.aspx

What last minute gift ideas are you thinking about this year?

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Cheap Eats: Part 2

This is the second post of 2 covering the topic of how to find cheap places to eat through non-mobile means, but instead through tips from this blog post or printable coupons. This post will focus on the following options that includes;

• Coupons
• Daily Deals
• Places you never thought of

Coupons
I know most people associate coupons with crazy ladies that are addicted to cutting coupons and show up on reality tv shows. But it's important to note that it's not a bad thing to whip out a coupon here and there especially when its going to save you some money. A great website to check out is BeFrugal.com where you can sign up and then print off coupons for restaurants. Another great tip is to sign up for the newsletters of your favourite chain restaurants where they often send you emails with deals and promotions that you can use at their restaurants.

Daily Deals
Websites like Groupon.com are great websites where you can get coupons and savings for chain restaurants as well as local restaurants. Check out these sites often and you can even sign up for their newsletters to make sure you get the most up to date deals.

Places you never thought of

This section was one of the main reasons why I wanted write a post covering this topic. Going to the University of Guelph myself I realized that there was a great restaurant on campus as part of our Hotel and Tourism program. This restaurant is run by students and is part of their curriculum which leads to fairly good meals and really inexpensive prices. 

A list of a few great university/college campus restaurants

Niagara College-Benchmark

University of Guelph-P.J's

Humber College- The Humber Room

Algonquin College-Restaurant International

Fanshawe College- Saffron's Restaurant

How do you save while eating out?

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How to Save Money Using eBay

eBay to some people seems like a scary place of fraud, possible fake products and a place requiring a credit card. I'm not going to say there isn't any fraud because there is, there are fake products and yes you do need a credit card, but there are ways to make sure you can avoid this problems. It all depends on what you are buying, how much you know about the product and understanding how eBay works. These are tips that you can transfer over to purchases made through kijiji, craigslist and other classified websites as well.

eBay is where I find certain products I need (and sometimes just want) for a lot cheaper than in the stores. If it isn't a deal on eBay you might as well just buy it in a store and save yourself the hassle of shipping and waiting for the product to arrive.

What is eBay?
At it's core eBay can be defined as;

1. eBay sellers pay a small flat fee plus a 1.5% percentage fee to eBay in order to market their wares;
2. eBay buyers visit and use the marketplace without any surcharges;
3. Any parties that abuse the system or each other will be disciplined or ejected

eBay is like a flea market but a bit different;

1. The eBay marketplace is international, and crosses language and national boundaries;


2. The massive choice of goods is awe-inspiring;


3. Sales can either be auction format (competitions between bidders), or traditional fixed price format. The sellers choose whichever format they prefer;


4. The buyers and sellers will likely never meet in person;


5. The buyers do not get to see the product in person before purchase, but are given various post-purchase guarantees to ensure satisfaction;


6. Very sophisticated computer measures are implemented to minimize electronic dishonesty on all sides;


7. Fulltime staff are employed to enforce safety and fairness across the system;


8. An honesty incentive model called 'positive feedback' is used to motivate buyers and sellers to trade with integrity;


9. Professional third parties payment services, like Paypal, Bidpay, and Escrow.com, are brought in to ensure safe and trusted payment between eBayers;


10. eBay is easier to use than a flea market.

In order to purchase goods on eBay you need to register, supply a credit card number, and I suggest creating an account on PayPal to make purchases online. You can register a credit card and/or a debit card.

Check out this excellent guide on how to use eBay.

Here are some of my tips on how to be safe, make smart purchases and get the best deals you can.

• Always check the sellers feedback score. I usually go with 100% or nothing. Even if a sellers feedback score says 99%, they are often high volume sellers and that can mean that they still have a lot of negative reviews. Read through their comment's section and check for patterns, are people constantly complaining about shipping? or items not as described? If those show up, it's a red flag. Don't buy from that seller.
• Check the location that the product is coming from (this may help determine shipping times/costs and/or product quality). Even if the currency is listed as US dollars or Australian dollars it may not be coming from that country. I have come across a lot of listings that say Australian dollars when in fact that product is coming from Hong Kong. 
• ALWAYS check how much the product will cost to ship, if it doesnt say in the listing make sure to message the seller to get a quote. Don't ever bid if you don't know the shipping cost, it could more than double what you spend depending on the product you're buying.
• Go with Canadian sellers whenever you can, shipping is usually cheaper and quicker. Also if there is an option to pick up an item do it, sometimes they charge you, but you can pick up your item on your own terms and not have to rely on good old Canada Post.

Best Products to Buy on eBay

• Razor Blades- Don't enjoy paying $20 for 4 blades at Shoppers Drug Mart? You can usually get double that for the same price or more on eBay. Check, but most often if you are purchasing from a Canadian seller shipping is free as well. 
• Clothing-Certain brands of clothing are everywhere on eBay and often cheaper. You can find anything from Lulu Lemon to Abercrombie and more. 
• Shoes- Be careful with shoes, some can be fakes. Determine the price you want to spend, try on the shoes in store some where and figure out if it makes sense to purchase them online. 

Tips to Buying Clothes and Shoes

• Try on products you are interested in, in store and determine your correct sizing. You dont want to have to return things to sellers on eBay unless you really have to.
• Buying multiple products from the same seller can save you a ton on shipping
• If you aren't against buying used clothing/shoes, you can find great deals on used designer clothing and shoes on eBay.

Also you may be able to get a deal by using one of these websites. Type in the product you are searching for and both sites will generate typo's for these products. These products wont come up in a normal eBay search because of their incorrect spelling, which can help you snag a great deal

• http://www.typohound.com/
• http://www.fatfingers.com/default.aspx

eBay is a great place to find deals, if you do your research and are careful when making purchases. Make sure to check out sellers feedback scores, the location the product is coming from and the shipping costs. Also be aware of the sellers return policies.

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Moving into Your Rental Home: Stocking the Place

One of the most exciting points of the school year is the first few days back, seeing all of your roommates, meeting new ones and getting back into university life. To make the first few days a bit more enjoyable, less stressful and to make the transition smoother its best to move in and organize your place a bit beforehand. My move into my university student house consisted of various weekends of me dropping old furniture off and other household purchase off as well as painting my room and setting up my bed.

If this entire task seems completely overwhelming and you don't know where to start, where to find furniture to fill your house etc. This post will hopefully lead you on your way.

Where to Get Cheap Furniture
Where you get furniture depends on what you consider gross and unsanitary I guess. For those who would snag a couch sitting at the end of someone's driveway that's all you, and you can probably get it cleaned if you wanted to, and save yourself a ton of money. There are other options and many of them where you can find desks, chairs, kitchen tables, bed frames, dressers etc.

• Check out garage sales for furniture of all kinds
• If you have a Habitat ReStore near you, check it out- you're supporting a charity and getting discount furniture
• Check out Value Village or Goodwill. I have heard of many people snagging tables and other furniture for ridiculously low prices
• Search through Kijiji and Craigslist people are always selling
• For inexpensive new furniture check out Ikea or JYSK (A JYSK is opening up in Guelph this August)
• See if anyone in your family is getting rid of old furniture, you know where it came from and they will often give it to you for FREE. Plus it's often a good excuse for them to get new furniture. Total win for everyone
• Also talk to the students that previously lived in your home, they are often willing to leave furniture or sell it to you for cheap if they are graduating (they really don't want student furniture any more or don't want to haul it back home)

Decorating Your Room
Some landlords unfortunately don't want you to paint, and often it is a good thing (save yourself a lot of hassle) unless your walls are absolutely disgusting. If you're allowed and want to take on the painting challenge there are some cheap ways of getting it done.

• Check out Dulux paint stores. They often have a buy 1 get 1 50% off deal. So you can get your paint and primer there. (For most rooms you only need a can any ways).
• Buy brushes, rollers and other supplies at the dollar store. Dollarama is a great place to check.
• For doing edges snag yourself some painters tape (usually green or blue) if not just freehand away I guess.

In terms of decorating your room there are a few good ways to do it. Check out Walmart for various picture frames, wall art and mirrors etc. They are usually inexpensive, and you can even get digital pictures developed for really cheap there as well. Also consider posters for your walls, the University of Guelph does have a poster sale at the beginning of the year. If not you can also check out http://posters.ca/

Stocking up the Kitchen
One of the things I realized once I moved away from home was the amount of things that a kitchen has in it and how many gadgets, pots/pans, trays, bowls, plates you need in order to make a meal, the list goes on and on. You begin to quickly realize that if you have any chance of making even Kraft Dinner you need a pot, some sort of stirring object, butter, milk, possibly a colander (that thing that drains the water) and if you're really fancy a bowl to eat it out of. You can see how this all adds up. So I have devised a plan to give you a decent list of all the things you need to stock up you're kitchen. Hope it helps.

Cheap Student's Kitchen List

So where can you get most of this stuff?

• Check out Canadian Tire for cheap deals on pots, pans, silverware and cooking accessories. Starting August they often have their back to school sales for most school related products.
• Ikea also has some cheap kitchen accessories. Just don't get sucked in and buy a bunch of unnecessary stuff. It happens I know.
• Get old pots and pans and baking gear from your parents or relatives. If you want you can try out kijiji and craigslist but it could be a little gross :S up to you.

Other things you may have forgotten

• Light bulbs! Batteries!-These are the 2 most annoying things ever when they die or burn out. Especially when those batteries are powering your smoke detectors. Have extra's on hand so you can actually sleep through the night when they start dying at 2am.
• Buy a lot of toilet paper if it's on sale-stock up
• Garbage, recycling and green bin bags
• Cleaning supplies; Windex, Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Toilet Bowl brush, All-Purpose cleaner, rags for cleaning, paper towel. And the greatest invention ever..the Magic Eraser
• Garbage cans for inside your room, for the kitchen and for outside (some of these may have been provided by your landlord)
• Soaps- Face, hand, body, dish, dishwasher. So many soaps.
• Snag an extra pair of sheets, you will thank me.
• Fans and portable heaters. Unless you are rolling in the dough you won't have your AC (if you have it) or heat pumping at all times during the year. These 2 can be a lifesaver.
• Shot glasses!-Geez people I shouldn't need to remind you.
• Deck of cards-you never know when you might need them
• Red Cups and ping pong balls-Just necessary
• Scotch Tape, Elastics and twist ties. If not I'm sure you will find a creative way to seal/close things..

For the rest you're on your own.
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What are some major household products you've forgotten?

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Keeping up with the Olympics: London 2012 Cheap

The London Olympics begin tomorrow and this means that for the next month everyone will be once again completely obsessed with sports that they only watch every 4 years. Now unfortunately we all don't have the ability to sit and watch TV for 24 hours and catch every single sporting event. So hopefully to help everyone out I have put together a bit of a one-stop shop so to speak of all the Canadian channels, apps and live streaming websites that can help you make it through and keep up to date.

Check out olympics.ca for Canadian related information

Apps to download
iLondon 2012 App $1.99 iTunes

Free Apps
TSN (Just the general app, will have section for olympics)
NBC Olympics Free iTunes
Score Mobile(Just the general app, will have section for olympics)

Watching Live Online
CTV

Watching Replays (legally)
CBC

Websites to live stream from
firstrowsports.eu
http://livetv.ru/en/
http://atdhe.eu/
Google: Live Sports Streaming

TV Channels showing the Olympics
OMNI
CBC
CTV
TSN-Redirects to CTV
Sportsnet
The Score

View Schedules Here

Twitter: People to Follow

• An easy way to keep track of what's going on. Check out what's trending
• This Olympics are said to be the Olympics of social media. It's going to be a great way to stay connected

London 2012
Official Olympics and Paralympics channel - Sport, culture, behind the scenes information and opinion on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
CTVOlympics.ca
Official Twitter account of CTVOlympics.ca. Join the conversation leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games. Connect on Facebook Google+ YouTube #CTVOlympics
Olympics 
The Olympic Games
CDN Olympic Team
News on the Canadian Olympic Team toward London 2012 and beyond.


London 2012 Image Canadian Olympic Team Logo Image

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St. Patrick's Day..Cheap

So St. Patrick's Day is probably one of the best days of the school year and what's even better is that it falls on the weekend this year.
The only thing better is getting dressed up in all the green you can find, and doing it cheaply.

So here are a few tips on how to dress up, look good and do it without spending a ton of money (since we all know its close to the end of the year and our bank accounts look pretty empty)

Here are a few stores I like to check out for cheap St. Patties Day swag;

Dollarama
-You can find an assortment of necklaces, hats, cups and wigs for around $1-$2 each.
Note: Don't buy their really tall skinny plastic cup with straw and parade around with it on the streets, it't considered an open container and the Police might not like it too much.

Ardene's
-If you want to grab some green sunglasses, socks, t-shirts/tops you can normally find some great stuff here.
Tip: Go with your friends and buy multiples, normally the deals at Ardene's are when you buy 2 or 3 of each of a certain item

Old Navy
-If you want an actual t-shirt that says St.Patrick's day, or even just some green tops or even green pants, these are on sale this week at Old Navy

Value Village
-Always a good one when it comes to costumes for Halloween, it definitely could be a great place to find some really wacky green clothing, obviously options vary by store

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Take Out Meals. Cheap

So either you are feeling really lazy, strapped for time, it's midterm/exam season or you aren't the greatest cook out there.

Fear not! Here's a way to find affordable and pretty tasty meals sorted by price.
An awesome tip..don't buy drinks when you buy food from fast food restaurants, bring your own water etc.
These prices are before taxes.

Under $5
Subway

-Signature Subs; Pizza, Ham, Veggie, Meatball, Cold Cut Combo
6" $3.50 (before tax)
12" $5 (before tax)
OR
-Sub of the Day 6" $4 or 12" $6
Pizza Pizza
-Pepperoni/Cheese slice and Pop $2.99 with SPC Card
-Walk in Special, Medium Pepperoni/Cheese Pizza $4.99
Toppers Pizza
-Personal Pepperoni Pizza with Pop $3.99 with SPC Card

Under $10

Metro (4-9pm)

-Monday, Fresh 2 Go Salad $6.99

-Tuesday, Cooked Mammoth Chicken $6.99

-Wednesday, 16" X-Large Pepperoni Pizza $6.99

-Thursday, 15 Wings $6.99

-Friday, Sushi Boat Special (18 pieces) $6.99

Gino's Pizza

-check their walk in specials. Usually a M/L for $9.99

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How to Save Money on Your Cell Plan

Here's a guest blog post from Taqi at iUndergrad. It's a strategy on how to save money on your cell phone bills using Petro Canada mobility. Make sure to check out the links below, and check out what people have discussed on RedFlagDeals before trying this out. This is often a great place to check out ways to get cheap retention plans as well, with Rogers, Fido etc. Stay tuned for another blog post about retention plans. 
Note: I have not tried this out personally.
Thanks again Taqi for the guest post.

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Hey thanks for letting me write here. CSC has given me some great food ideas and has no doubt helped me save quite a bit of money. I'm glad to give something back.

To the reader: Hi, my name is Taqi and I go to school in Hamilton at McMaster University. I also write for iUndergrad

I've been in a terrible cell phone contract for the past 3 years, and just recently I came across a nifty way to cut my bill in half (and later cut it down even more to just a third). Here's how I did it...

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First up, I'd like to mention that this method really only works in Canada. If you live in the states or abroad, then you're out of luck. Also, I am in no way affiliated with any of the companies or websites mentioned in this post, aside from my aforementioned blog.

Now with the formalities out of the way, let's get into it.

My 3-year contract was with Rogers and effectively drained my soul. You see, I've never been a fan of Rogers. Don't care for their packages or their pricing. But at the time they were the only ones this side of the border who supported the iPhone 3G.

So after paying close to $60/month for 3 years (data not included), I finally reached the end of the contract in September 2011. Shortly after, I found a plan which allowed me unlimited texting, 100 Canada-wide minutes, and unlimited data for $28/month.

Now this is perfect for me because I'm an avid texter, and really only use the "phone" to call home long-distance, among other trivialities.

Don't worry if 100 minutes seems to short for you. They also have 200, 300 and unlimited minute plans.

Since then, I've cut the data ($8), and today only pay $20/month.

So how did I manage this? Well anyone can get the plan I'm currently on now, but from what I'm aware (and this may have changed since September 2011), only iPhone and Blackberry users can utilize the unlimited data for an extra $8.

The way this works, or rather the way I did it was I took the bus down to the local Petro Canada gas station and got their cheapest prepaid phone. It was $15 plus a mandatory $50 paid towards your plan. I moseyed on over to mobility.petro-canada.ca and activated my phone, and chose the plan.

Next I removed the SIM card and inserted it into my iPhone 3G. This is where I hit a bit of a bump. The $8 addition is really only unlimited mobile browsing, not unlimited data. Here are the solutions I've found:

iPhone: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/petro-canada-mobility-internet-browsing-812089/#post10389075

Blackberry: http://forums.crackberry.com/rogers-f73/petro-canada-unlimited-internet-package-successfully-tethered-windows-640707/

Note: Can't speak for BB, but the iPhone does NOT need to be jailbroken for this to work.

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So that's it! Step-by-step guide how you can get a cheap no-contract cell plan (and a backup phone) for super cheap.

If you enjoyed this post, and would like to learn more ways to get ahead (in all respects) while in school, check out College Life: iUndergrad. iUndergrad is the blog where I share insanely long posts dedicated to ensure that YOU get the collegeexperience of your dreams.

Cheers,

Taqi

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Kraft Dinner. 10 Different ways

As students we love our Kraft Dinner. Especially Canadian students. 

According to an interesting statistic I found on Wikipedia..in 2008 over 7 million boxes of Kraft Dinner were sold globally per week, Canadians were buying 1.7 million of them.With a price around $1 a box how could you not buy it.

So we all normally eat it just like the box tells us to, easy enough.

But why not try something different.

Here are 10 different ways to change up your KD

(don't worry I made sure to pick the easy ones)

Click on the different titles to view the detailed recipes and instructions.

1. The Healthy Version

• This is the simply on the box recipe, but a bit healthier then usual prep
• Switch up your butter and 2% or higher milk, and use low fat margarine and Skim or 1% milk.

2. Who knew you could make lasagna?

• All you need is the following
• 1 package of KD
• 1lb of lean ground beef
• 1 cup of pasta sauce (some Ragu works)
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

3,4,5,6. Mix and Match 

• Check out the Kraft site, this has multiple different ingredients that you can add to Kraft Dinner.

7. Hot Dogs

• My personal favourite, take about 2-3 hot dogs, cut them up into thin slices and put them into the boiling pot of pasta for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking.
• Then prepare the KD like you usually do

8. Italian Style

• What you need
• 1 package of KD
• 1 cup of chopped pepperoni
• 1 cup of each chopped green peppers and mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of pizza or spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (you could probably substitute mozzarella here)

9. Tomato Soup

• All you need is
• 1 package of KD
• 1 can of tomato soup (usually under a dollar for 1 can)
• This is instead of completely drowning your KD in ketchup..save your ketchup for some chicken fingers and fries

10. Peas and Tomatoes

• I usually use about 3-4 spoonfuls of canned tomatoes (usually around a dollar for a can of tomato chunks-make sure they are chunks) add a pinch of salt for taste
• You can also add some frozen peas if you want 
• These can be cooked in the microwave and then mixed into the KD after it's been completely cooked with cheese, milk and butter/margarine added

Other KD tips

How to fix KD leftovers so they taste just as good as they did the day before.
Option 1 - Half and Half
Cook the entire portion of pasta, once cooked separate half of the pasta into a Tupperware container.
Prepare the portion you're eating like usual (saving half of the cheese for later).
When you want to eat the second half of your KD, add margarine then put into microwave for about 30 seconds to a minute
Stir, then add cheese sauce and milk as you would normally and then to stir you can even just put the lid on the tupperware and shake.
Make sure to half your margarine and milk when making each half of the KD

Option 2.
Cook all the KD as you normally would. Any leftovers you may have put in the fridge in a Tupperware container.
When you want to eat your leftovers, add a bit of milk and then microwave. Stir and eat.


For Nights You Go Out....
Also as more of a portion control thing, and to prevent you from injuring yourself after a night of drinking. Buy KD easy mac cups instead, all you need to do is add water, microwave, add cheese sauce and stir. Maybe read the instructions..when your sober.


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Images:
http://www.premierlife.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/kraft-dinner.jpg

http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/kraft-dinner-easy-lasagne-89421.aspx

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No Gym...No Problem

Christmas holidays are basically eating and drinking. Most people also don't have a membership to a gym since they went away for school. Check out this awesome, and FREE way to work out at home without any equipment other than your body.

Full Body Workout with Nothing But Your Body

Now I just need to take my own advice...

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